


Betrayal

by buckyismymainman



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Everyone is sort of background characters the main focus is on the reader and Natasha, F/F, F/M, Major character death - Freeform, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Reader Death, Takes place when Natasha left the team to join Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2019-12-06 19:46:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18224627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckyismymainman/pseuds/buckyismymainman
Summary: You and Natasha had been close before the events in Civil War, but when Natasha decided to team up with Steve you felt betrayed by her.  Two years later she returns to the compound with Steve and the others and it seems like there could be more between her and the super soldier.





	1. Chapter 1

You and Natasha had started out as friends when you first joined the Avengers, but then things slowly shifted into something else entirely.  The two of you started falling in love with one another.  You were inseparable.

Then Steve Rogers went AWOL with his old friend Bucky who was said to have bombed the UN and killed King T’Chaka.  You and Natasha had originally sided with Tony.  Steve was your friend, but he was so off the mark with this one.

You were at the airport fighting with your friends, and it was painful, seeing your close-knit family torn apart like this.  You could see Steve’s side, this was his best friend, the last living person from his own time.  But Bucky was a criminal and he had to be tried fairly just like everyone else.

When the fight at the airport didn’t go your way you headed back to New York to the compound to try and regroup before doing anything else.  Tony was still overseas trying to smooth things over and you were with Rhodey as he went through his doctors’ appointments and being an ear if he needed it.

When Tony returned he revealed that Natasha had helped Steve and Bucky escape.  You had looked at her horrified, “Is that true?”  Why hadn’t she told you she was going to help them?  Didn’t she trust you?

She nodded her head, “I trust Steve.”

Tony had scoffed and told her that Ross was going to come after her, she had to leave now if she didn’t want to wind up in the Raft prison like the others.  She had stormed off and you had followed her.  “Why didn’t you tell me?  Do you not trust me?”  You had asked her.

Natasha opened the door to her room and began throwing clothes and weapons into several duffel bags.  She didn’t look at you, “You don’t know Steve like I do, Y/N.  You were so blinded by Tony’s side I wasn’t sure if I could trust you.”

That cut you like a knife, “I’m your girlfriend, I love you and I trust you.  If you had told me, if you had explained things I’m sure I would have understood!”

Natasha shook her head, her eyes still not meeting yours, “Just let it go, Y/N.  It happened it’s over and I need to go find Steve.”

You frowned, your hurt being replaced by anger.  “After all we’ve been through this is how things are going to end between us?  You were just gonna walk out the door without talking to me about this?”

She turned around now, her green eyes held a note of sadness in them, “What more is there to say?  I betrayed your trust, I sided with Steve, and now I need to leave before I’m locked up just like the rest of them.  You need to let me go, Y/N, it’s for the best.”

“You don’t get to decide what’s best for me, I’m not going to throw away years of a relationship away just because you decided to run,” you spat at her.

Natasha squared her shoulders, in each hand she had a duffle bag.  If she wanted to leave now she would have to hit you where it hurt the most, “Maybe I don’t love you anymore.  Ever think of that?  Maybe I’m just tired of the way things have been going and I just want out.”

Your nails dug into your palms, “Well here’s your chance.”  You stepped aside to give her a clear path to the door.  Natasha didn’t say anything else as she went to leave, but you gripped her upper arm and hissed, “If you think I believe for a second that you don’t love me anymore then guess again.  I know you, Natasha, I know when you’re lying to me.”

She merely gave you a flat look before slipping out the door and out of the compound.

 

For the next two years, you ran the missions that the UN wanted you to run.  It felt wrong not having Natasha there beside you, her easy-going smile and the way she would joke with you to ease some of the tension.  There was a hole in your heart and you weren’t sure if it would ever go away.

You found yourself thinking about Natasha a lot when you were laying in your bed at night staring up at the ceiling.  Getting used to sleeping alone had been the hardest, you missed her warm body pressed against yours, the way her breath had fanned out across your skin as she fell into a deep sleep.

You had been the only person she had truly fallen asleep with, every time before she would be awake enough that she could sense danger if something were to happen.

You wanted her back despite how much her betrayal had hurt.  

Then Bruce had shown up at the compound telling you and Rhody about Thanos and how he was coming.  “He was the attack on New York,” Bruce had said.  “He wipes out half the population and then moves on.  If he gets his hands on the Infinity Stones then the entire galaxy is in danger.”

“How do we stop him then?”  You had asked.

“I don’t know,” Bruce admitted.  “But the ship in New York is just the beginning.”

You had led Bruce to a room so he could sleep or freshen up if he needed to and when you had returned Rhodey was video chatting with Secretary Ross.  “They’re only criminals because that’s what you’ve chosen to call them,” Rhodey was saying.

You stood in the doorway and watched as they talked before movement caught your eye.  You looked up and went stock still when you saw who was walking through the door.  Steve Rogers stood there flanked by Natasha and behind them were Sam, Wanda, and an injured Vision.  Your breath caught in your throat as you watched them together, they were a team much like you all had been, but you noticed the signs.

Steve and Natasha had grown closer to one another, becoming more than friends in their time away, and God did that hurt more than you thought it would.  It was like all the air had been knocked from your lungs.

“Hey Nat,” you said, your voice sounding a little raspy as you forced the words out.  She looked different, her red hair now blonde, her skin a bit paler than it had been in the past.  But she still had that confidence that seemed to shine through every pore.  No makeover could ever change the Natasha that you knew.

“Y/N,” she had said softly.

No one said anything for a few minutes as an air of awkwardness settled over the room.  Finally, Bruce broke the awkwardness and began telling them what he had told you and Rhodey not too long before that.

“We need to destroy the stone,” Vision said.

“No,” Wanda grew panicked at the thought of killing Vision by destroying the stone.  “There has to be something else we can do.”

“There might be a way,” Bruce interjected.  He began telling the group that Vision was more than the stone, that if the stone was removed Vision might still be able to survive.  “I can’t do it here though, I don’t have the technology.”

“I have a place,” Steve said.  “Pack anything you may need, we leave in the next thirty minutes.”


	2. Chapter 2

You were all on the Quinjet heading for Wakanda.  You had been surprised to learn that the King of Wakanda had helped Steve after the events in Germany.  That he had even housed the others for a while when things became too hard on the outside.

You were situated at the back of the Quinjet, your eyes were on your hands. You could hear the others chatting quietly as they flew. You felt her eyes on you and it took every ounce of willpower to not look in her direction.

Natasha couldn’t take it any longer.  She headed to the back where you were sitting all alone. “Hey,” her voice was soft.

You still refused to look up from your hands, “Hey.”  Your voice was just as soft as hers.

“Can we talk?”  You merely shrugged.  “I’m sorry for how we left things,” she took a seat beside you, careful not to sit too close.  “I’ve thought about it a lot over the past two years.”

You had too, running over the different ways that could have gone better in your head, “I have too, a lot actually.”

Natasha hesitated, but reached over and put her hand on top of yours, “For what it’s worth I am sorry I lied and that I hurt you.  I figured it would be easier if you hated me.  That I could walk away from it all.  Going from place to place over the past two years, on the run from the government was hard.  There were times when we were all fighting and I wondered what it would be like to have you back by my side like old times.”

“Running missions has never really felt the same to me as well,” you finally met her green eyes and saw so many emotions swirling there.  “Has he made you happy at least?”  You asked as your eyes drifted toward Steve, he had his back to you and Natasha and his muscles were tense, you weren’t sure if that was because of what was going on or because Natasha was talking to you.

“Y/N–”

“I want the truth, Nat,” you said, your voice a bit bitter.  Maybe you were a little upset that she had been able to move on while you had spent the last two years of your life trying to move on, trying to forget her.

She looked back at Steve, “He has, it wasn’t planned.  It just happened.”

You moved your hands out from under hers, “I have spent the last two years wondering if you were okay, if you were dead, if I would ever get to see you again.  Maybe I was foolish in thinking that where ever you were in the world that you still loved me because I sure as hell still love you.”  You angrily wiped at the tears that were falling down your face.  Maybe this was a good thing, you could finally get the closer that you needed.  “Please leave me alone, Nat.”

She stood up, wanting to say more, but knowing it would only hurt you if she did.  She walked back to Steve, “How did she take it?”

Natasha’s shoulders slumped a little, “She’s hurt, Steve.  How did you think she was going to take it?”

“I’m sorry,” he gently pressed his lips to the side of her head.  “I know this isn’t easy on either of you.”

Natasha’s eyes faced forward, Steve couldn’t read her emotions like you could.  If he did he would still see the love she had for you or the hurt that seeing you again under these circumstances was causing her.

When the Quinjet landed in Wakanda things were awkward and tense inside, but once you all were out of the tiny confined space tensions eased a bit.

T’Challa greeted Steve warmly and then turned to the rest of you.  Natasha asked how they were looking and T’Challa told them about the different groups that would be helping.  Bucky came out from the palace and embraced Steve, you stood back and watched them together.  People still thought that Bucky was a bad person because of all he had done as the Winter Soldier, but maybe that wasn’t the case.

Natasha watched as you scrutinized the scene, “Not everything is as black and white as Ross makes it seem.”

You looked up at her, “Why won’t he listen then?  Why is he still hunting you all down?”

“Because of those damned accords.  And because Steve wounded Ross’s ego.  Bucky is a victim in all of this, and T’Challa is trying to help him find some kind of peace.”

You and the others headed inside to where Shuri was waiting for your envoy.  “It can be done,” she said when she looked at the stone in Vision’s head.  “But this is going to take time.”

“How much time?”  You asked.

“As much as you can give me,” she responded.

One of Okoye’s beads started to sound with an alert and when the hologram appeared the room saw that something was entering the atmosphere.  “Engage the defenses,” T’Challa began saying.  “Get the people to safety.”  He pointed at Steve, “And get this man a shield.”

As you all filed outside you saw several large space crafts landing.  T’Challa instructed all of you to follow him and you gathered on ships that would take you to the battlefield.  Nerves began to flow through you as you got closer to the border.  Rhodey alerted all of you that there were figures coming through the treeline.

T’Challa, Steve, and Natasha went to meet whoever it was that had decided to grace you all with their presence.  Your eyes were trained on Nat, your teeth chewing on your lower lip.  Bucky was standing beside you and glanced down when he saw you fidgeting, “You love her don’t you?”

You weren’t sure how much he knew about the situation, “Yes, I do.”

He nodded his eyes focusing on Steve’s back, “What happened?”

“She took your side,” you said.  “And she didn’t trust me enough to think that I would side with you all.”

“I haven’t known Natasha long, but she tends to put the ones she loves before herself.  She must have thought you were better off staying with Tony than you would be if you were on the run with them.”

You had never really thought of it like that.  Had she been trying to keep you from a life on the run?  Had she been trying to protect you from jail time if you all had ever been caught?  You wondered if she would tell you that or if she would deny it.

T’Challa, Steve, and Natasha returned, and the space crafts opened.  You heard the growls and howls coming from the creatures within, saw the trees shaking as they ran through the forest toward the border.  When they broke the treeline they through themselves at the barrier, killing themselves as they tried to get through.

You watched in horror as they did so.  You felt a hand clasp yours and you looked down to see Natasha’s hand there.  You looked up and saw she had a melancholy kind of smile on her face.  “Just like old times.”

You didn’t know if you would survive this fight, but with Natasha by your side, you knew you had someone watching your back.  “Let’s do this,” you narrowed your eyes and turned back to the creatures.

“Wakanda forever!”  T’Challa shouted before your small army charged forward with a battle cry and into the fray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if this will be the last part or not....


	3. Chapter 3

You and Natasha had gotten separated during the fight against Thanos’s army.  Somewhere between then and Thanos snapping his fingers you had been injured and were now lying on a hospital bed in Wakanda’s hospital ward.  You were out cold, and they weren’t sure when you would wake up.  The doctor had been optimistic about your chances, it was just a waiting game to see how you were going to heal.

Natasha was standing by your bed with her arms wrapped around her.  She was trying so hard not to cry at the sight of you in the bed, your eyes closed as you laid there peacefully.

So many people had just died right before her eyes, T’Challa, Shuri, Sam, Bucky, and Wanda to name a few, she didn’t think she could take it if you died on her.  She covered her mouth with her hand and let out a little sob. “You can’t die on me, Y/N.”  She collapsed beside your bed, her tears were hitting the ground as she cried.  “Please wake up.”

“Nat,” she turned at the sound of Steve’s voice.  He was standing there with a grim look on his face. “Can we talk?”

She wiped her eyes and glanced at you one last time. She followed Steve into the empty hallway. “I think I know what you’re going to say,” she wouldn’t look at him. “I do love you, Steve.”

He pulled Natasha in for a hug and kissed the top of her head.  “I know, but you love Y/N more. You always have.”

She broke down into sobs, “I can’t lose her.”

Okoye appeared and saw Natasha quietly crying. She had no idea what was going on or what the situation was but her heart went out to the other woman. “We need to speak, the others have gathered in the throne room. I came to find you.”

“We’ll be right there,” Steve said.  Okoye nodded and walked away to allow Natasha some privacy to calm herself down.

Before long the others were heading back to New York. They were leaving you behind so the doctors could watch over you.

 

A month later you woke up. “What happened?”  You clutched the doctor’s arm, your eyes wide, breathing heavy.

“Get Okoye,” he said. “Miss, please I need you to calm down. You’re still in Wakanda, you were injured during the fighting. You’ve been in a coma for a month.”

Okoye entered the room and nodded to the doctor letting him know it was okay to go. She moved to stand beside you, “There’s a lot we need to discuss.”

You say on the bed with your heart feeling like it had stopped beating as she told you that you all had lost. Your first instinct was to ask about Natasha. Was she still alive? Okoye told you she was and you slumped a bit.

“I can have one of them come to get you if you’d like to go back to New York,” she offered.

You nodded your head, “Please.”  Okoye told you she would be back after she let the others know you were okay and wanted someone to pick you up and take you back to New York.

It would be a few hours, but that gave you time to get changed and prepare to head back home.  You wondered who would come to pick you up from Wakanda.  Would it be Steve?  Rhodey?  Natasha?

A little part of you hoped that it would be Natasha who would come get you.  You just wanted to forget everything that had happened between the two of you and be with her again.  A little part of you would never forgive her, but you were starting to understand why she had done what she had done.

A few hours later the door to your room opened and Natasha stood there, not quite believing her eyes as you sat on the edge of your bed waiting for her to come and get you.  When your gazes met you saw that she had tears in her eyes and she looked like she was on the verge of collapsing to her knees.

You got off your bed as quickly as you could and rushed over to her.  “Nat,” you squeezed her tightly, she held you a bit more gently, but she still had a firm grip on you.  

“I’m so sorry,” her voice broke as she said those three little words.  “I should never have left you behind like I did, I should have trusted you and brought you along with me. I just thought I was doing what was best for you.  I didn’t want a life on the run to be all you knew.  You were safer with Tony and the others.”

“I don’t care,” you whispered.  “I don’t care anymore.  I’m just so glad you’re okay.”  You pulled away and kissed her, taking her by surprise, but she melted into your arms and kissed you back.  The last two years melting away as the two of you shared your first kiss in a long time.  She kissed your cheeks, your forehead, your neck.  She had missed the feeling of her lips brushing across your skin.

The two of you managed to break apart before things went any further, you were still injured and Natasha wanted to take things slowly with you.  She wanted to make sure you weren’t going to regret your choice of forgiving her, she wanted to make sure this was absolutely what you wanted before going further.  “Steve and I broke it off,” she told you as the two of you made your way toward the Quinjet.  “He always knew I loved you more.  He had figured that I was trying to move on.”

“No hard feelings?”  You asked.

She shook her head, “No, he understands.  He’s not upset, he always kind of knew him and I weren’t going to last.  It was more of a convenience thing for the two of us.  Not a lot of time to date when you’re on the run from the governments of the world.”

“And now?”

“Well, the world has gone to shit so I don’t think that we’re priority number one right now.”  She said as she made sure you were safely secure and okay before getting in the pilot’s seat.  “When we get back home we’ll all fill you in a bit better on what’s been going on since the battle.”

You reached over and took her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze before bringing it back to your lap and looking out the window.  In a few short hours, you would be back in New York and trying to learn to cope with the knowledge that you hadn’t managed to save the world when it needed you the most.


	4. Chapter 4

**FIVE YEARS LATER**

Natasha sat at a desk with a peanut butter sandwich sitting in front of her.  She was talking with Carol, Rhody, Okoye, Rocket, and Nebula.  You were sitting next to her, your hand in hers.  “Anything to report?”  She asked her friends.

Each of them gave their report of how things were going until they were all gone except for Rhodey.  “Nat, I don’t think you want to hear this, but I don’t think you want us finding Barton.  He’s gone to the dark side for a lack of a better term.”

You took Nat’s hand under the table, you could see her struggling to hold back her tears, “Just find him… please.”  Rhodey took in the look on her face and then nodded his head and was gone with the rest of them.

You pulled Natasha into your arms and squeezed her tightly.  Clint had been on a killing spree as of late.  He was going from country to country, city to city, taking out the people who were criminals.  He had turned into a vigilante, choosing not to come to the compound and help that way.

Steve appeared in the doorway and took in Nat’s state.  “Clint?”  He mouthed at you, you nodded your head and he sat down.  “Nat,” he said softly.  “It’ll be okay.”

She pulled away from you and wiped her eyes, “How can it be okay?  He’s out there killing people and he won’t come here to me, to us to get help.”

You wiped the tears from her face, “He’s hurting, his entire family was wiped out in the snap.  I can see how that would mess with a person and cause them to go dark.  Rhodey will find him, you’ll bring him back.”

Something began to beep and the room went still.  “Are you expecting someone?”  Steve asked.

Natasha brought up the camera that was going off and saw a man standing at the gate.  You recognized him as Scott Lang.  You had fought against him in Germany.  “What the hell?”  You muttered as you moved closer to the projection.

“Is that an old recording?”  Steve asked as he and Natasha stood up from their seats.

“It’s the front gate,” she whispered before the three of you went running to let him in.

You brought him back to the room where you and Nat had just been and he stole her sandwich claiming to be starving.  He was muttering utter nonsense to you all.  “Scott, calm down and try to explain what’s going on.”

He paused and looked at you, “I’ve been trapped in the quantum realm for five years now.”

“Well I’m sorry to hear that, but how is that important to us?”  Natasha asked.

He looked away from you to the red head beside you, “It didn’t feel like five years.  It felt like five hours, that’s how the quantum realm works.  Times different there, and what if we could use that to our advantage?  What if we could bring everyone back?”

The three of you glanced at each other.  Steve looked back at Scott, “Are you talking about time travel?”

“No,” Scott said.  “It’s not really time travel, it’s… it’s….  Yeah okay, so it’s time travel.  But if we could figure out a way to navigate time in the quantum realm then this could actually work.”

“We need to go see Tony,” you said.  “He’s one of the only people that could actually figure out if this could work or not.  Or give us a way to navigate time in the… quantum realm?”  You glanced back at Scott who nodded his head and gave you a thumbs up.

“Let’s pay a visit to, Tony,” Steve said as he grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair.

Tony and you had kept in contact over the last five years and you had even visited him on occasion with Natasha.  You loved his daughter Morgan, she was so smart and curious.  You could tell how proud of her Tony was and how much he loved her.

When he saw the four of you getting out the car he didn’t look upset to see Steve.  The two of them were still on the outs with one another, but you knew the two of them were just too stubborn to hash things out.

You hugged Tony and waved at Pepper through the window.  She gave you an uneasy smile and waved back.  She knew that you four weren’t just here for a visit.  She glanced at Tony and then said something to Morgan before disappearing out of sight.

Scott began explaining his idea to Tony, but Tony wasn’t hearing any of it.  “Look, it’s nice that you think this will work, but I can’t take this risk.  I got lucky, extremely lucky and I can’t risk it.  Good luck though.”

You left shortly after that, casting a glance back at Tony as he watched you all leave.  You went to Bruce next and he agreed to help.  You ran test after test on Scott, turning him into a baby, a small child, and an old man.  You were ready to give up and say it was hopeless to do this when Tony came waltzing in saying he had figured out how to time travel.

Of course, he had.

 

One by one the team came back together.  Nebula and Rocket came back from space, Carol opted to stay behind and keep an eye on the galaxy to make sure nothing happened while the others were away.  Natasha left and found Clint in Japan and dragged him back to the compound.  Everything was coming together.

“Do you think this is actually going to work?”  Natasha asked as she watched Clint step up onto the quantum tunnel and prepared himself to be sent back before his family was taken in the snap.  

“I have to believe it will,” you said as you pulled your gaze away from Clint to look at Natasha.  “We have to have faith.”

She blew out a breath, “It’s a little hard to have faith after all that’s happened.”

You kissed her cheek, your lips lingering there.  “I know,” you whispered as you pulled away.  “But this will work, Nat,” the conviction in your voice made her believe that you were right.

Clint returned and brandished his son’s baseball glove.  It had worked, now all you needed was a plan.

Natasha realized that at one time or another three of the stones had been in New York and two had been in space.  Groups of two and three would go back in time and collect each of the stones from their time.

Steve, Tony, Scott, and Bruce would all go to New York together.  It was Bruce’s job to get the stone from the sorcerers, and the other three would get the mind and space stone from when Loki attacked New York.  You and Natasha were going to get the soul stone while Clint, Nebula, and Rhodey went after the power stone.  That left Thor and Rocket to get the reality stone from Asgard.

The night before you laid in bed with Natasha, holding her close.  “I wish we hadn’t lost all those years together,” you told her.  “I wish that things had gone differently.”

She kissed you, slow and sweet, her hands gripping the material of your shirt.  “I do too, but let’s not dwell on all that now.  We’re together again, and I love you.  I’m not going to let anything hurt you.”

“In our line of work, there’s no guarantee that I won’t get hurt or that you won’t get hurt.  This is probably one of the most dangerous missions we’ve ever been on and there’s no telling what’s going to happen to us.”

She started to cry, “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

You took her face in between your hands, “You would move on eventually.  If something happens to me, I want you to continue living.  Continue protecting the people of earth.  It wouldn’t have been your fault, things happen and we have no control over it.”

She snuggled closer and closed her eyes, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Nat.”  You held her until you and she were both asleep.

 

In the morning there was a nervous energy in the air.  You all ate breakfast together, trying to joke around with one another.  You brought up memories that made you smile, it felt like for the first time in a long time you all were a team again.

When it was time you suited up and headed for the quantum tunnel.  You stood in a circle, each of you glancing at one another.

Steve spoke up first, “Five years ago we lost.  There was no hope in sight and we lost some of the people we were closest too.  To be honest, I didn’t think we would ever be able to get them back again until now.  You all know your missions.  Get in, grab the stones, and meet back here.”  He stuck out his arm, “We can do this, we can bring everyone back.”

You all stuck your arms out to form a circle.  “He’s really good at that,” Rocket said.

“Right?!”  Scott said eagerly causing you to laugh.

Natasha glanced around at everyone, “See you in a minute.”

With that, Bruce opened the tunnel and you all fell through heading to your destinations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will have two alternate endings. Warnings will be posted.


	5. Alternate Ending One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please read the warnings and tags. This chapter has major character death and Endgame spoilers!!!!

You and Natasha split up from Clint, Rhodey, and Nebula.  Rocket had told you before you left to be careful with the ship and that he didn’t want to see a scratch on it.  You and Natasha were sitting in the pilot seats flying through space.

You laughed at how cool it was.  “I never thought I would actually get to go to space.”

Natasha looked at you and grinned, “We’re a long ways away from home now.”  She took your hand and kissed your knuckles.  “Maybe we should talk to Carol about a vacation in space, she could probably hook us up.”

You threw back your head and laughed, “Oh I don’t Nat, you’d probably get into something you weren’t supposed to and then we’d have aliens chasing us across the galaxy.”

She pouted, “I think you’re thinking about Clint.  He would get into some shit that he wasn’t supposed to and have half the galaxy coming after him.”

You playfully argued back and forth on that for a moment before you reached Vormir.  The plate was desolate and you and Natasha made your way toward the large mountain.  You complained about the climb, but then you reached an open area.

“Welcome Natasha, Daughter of Ivan.  Y/N, daughter of Y/D/N.”  You and Natasha drew your guns at the sound of the man’s voice, he appeared before you with a red skull-like face and black robes that flowed around him. 

“Who are you?”  You asked.

“I am the keeper of the Soul stone, leading people to a treasure that I can never possess,” he responded.

You and Natasha glanced at one another before she looked back at the wraith and said, “Lead the way then.”

He led you through a small cave to another open area with a drop-off.  You glanced over the edge and felt your heart drop at the sight, that was a long way down.  You looked back at the wraith and said, “Where is it?”

“To acquire the Soul Stone, there must be a sacrifice.  You must give up the thing you love the most in order to obtain it,” he said.

Your breath hitched and Natasha paled.  You walked closer to her, “What do we do?  This could be a trap, it has to be a trap.”

She chewed on her nail, “No, I don’t think it is.  He’s telling the truth.”

You narrowed your eyes, “How do you know?  How can you possibly trust a thing he’s saying?”

She met your gaze, tears already swimming in her eyes, “I didn’t know my father’s name.”  That hit you like a ton of bricks.  

The area around you grew quiet as you both thought over your options together.  Finally, you said, “I think we know what has to be done.” 

She stood and pulled you into her arms, resting her forehead on yours.  “If we don’t get that stone billions will stay dead and this whole mission will be for nothing.  We have to get the stone back.”

You pulled away, “Nat…”

“It has to be me,” tears rolled down her face.  “I have to be the one that does this.”

You shook your head, “No it doesn’t.  Nat, you’ve done so much, helped so many people.  You deserve a life, you deserve to be happy.”

“And you don’t?!”  She cried out.  “You don’t deserve to have a happy life?  No, if anyone deserves a life it’s you.”

You could taste your salty tears, “Don’t make this harder than it has to be Nat.  Let me go.”

She shook her head vehemently, her own tears rolling down her cheeks, “I love you too much to do this.  I have to do this, the team needs you.”

“They need you too!”  You gripped her tighter.  “I’m going,” there was no room in your tone for an argument, you had made up your mind.  You threw her down, your body pinning hers.  You gave her a sad smile, “I love you.”  You quickly got up and began running toward the cliff’s edge.  You jumped, but another body slammed into yours and you were suspended in midair, a cable attaching you to the side of the cliff.  You were holding onto Natasha looking down at her.  “No,” you breathed.  “No!”

She smiled at you, “It’s okay, let me go.”

“I can’t,” you cried.  “I can’t lose you!”

“You can,” she told you gently.  “I love you so much.”  She forced herself away from the cliff’s side and began falling, you watched her, screaming out her name.  You felt hopeless in that moment, your heart breaking into a million pieces as you witnessed her lying on the ground.

The world went black for a moment and when you woke the Soul Stone was in your hand.  You wanted to throw it as far as you could and tell whoever watched over it that it wasn’t worth the price, that you didn’t want it, but you knew that that wouldn’t work.

You made your way back through time to the others, landing on the quantum tunnel, everyone around you happy, but you felt… broken inside.

“Y/N, where’s Nat?”  You looked up to see Clint his smile fading as he took in your tears.  “No.”

You handed Steve the Soul Stone and walked out the room, your entire body numb.  She was gone and she wasn’t coming back.

 

Thanos had somehow managed to travel through the quantum realm and end up in your time.  The fight had caused many casualties, one of which had been Tony.  You were standing at his funeral, everyone he had touched in some way standing around you.  It felt wrong not having Natasha there.

After the funeral, you and Clint stood by the edge of the lake, his hand in yours.  “Do you think she knows?”  He asked, finally looking at you.  “Do you think she knows we won?”

You wiped at a tear that managed to escape with a free hand, “I think she does.  I think she knew all along that we would win.”

“What are you going to do now?”  He wondered if you would still be apart of the team or if this had been a final straw for you.

“I’m going to take some time off, travel a bit, see the world.  She talked about how she once found her parents’ graves.  I think I’ll visit them and tell them all about their daughter and how in the end she was a hero, I’ll even leave some flowers for them.”

“You can always come to stay with Laura and I if you need to.  There will always be a place for you,” he offered.

“Thanks Clint, I might take you up on that offer.”

“Clint!”  You turned to see Laura standing there.  “We should go.”

He looked back at you and you gave him a smile, “Go, I’ll be fine here.”  You faced the lake as Clint headed home with his family.

In the end, you did travel to Russia to find her parents’ gravestones, told them about Natasha and left some flowers.  It took a few years but you rejoined the Avengers, the world needed you and you knew Natasha would yell at you if you didn’t.

You became closer friends with Bucky and Sam, the three of you forming your own little ragtag group together.  The pain of losing Natasha never really went away, but it became easier over time.  Bucky would go with you on the days you visited her grave, and Sam would try to make those days a little less grey with his jokes.

You healed and moved on with life, and one day you hoped you would see her again and get to tell her in person about all the things you experienced when she wasn’t there by your side.

One day would come, and one day you would get to hear her say your name in the sweet way she did when the two of you were alone.  The way that made you smile and feel at home.  You ached to hear it again.

But until that day came you kept fighting to protect the sacrifice Natasha had made to bring everyone back and keep the world safe from threats like Thanos.


	6. Alternate Ending Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS! READER DIES IN THIS ENDING!!!

You and Natasha split up from Clint, Rhodey, and Nebula.  Rocket had told you before you left to be careful with the ship and that he didn’t want to see a scratch on it.  You and Natasha were sitting in the pilot seats flying through space.

You laughed at how cool it was.  “I never thought I would actually get to go to space.”

Natasha looked at you and grinned, “We’re a long ways away from home now.”  She took your hand and kissed your knuckles.  “Maybe we should talk to Carol about a vacation in space, she could probably hook us up.”

You threw back your head and laughed, “Oh I don’t Nat, you’d probably get into something you weren’t supposed to and then we’d have aliens chasing us across the galaxy.”

She pouted, “I think you’re thinking about Clint.  He would get into some shit that he wasn’t supposed to and have half the galaxy coming after him.”

You playfully argued back and forth on that for a moment before you reached Vormir.  The plate was desolate and you and Natasha made your way toward the large mountain.  You complained about the climb, but then you reached an open area.

“Welcome Natasha, Daughter of Ivan.  Y/N, daughter of Y/D/N.”  You and Natasha drew your guns at the sound of the man’s voice, he appeared before you with a red skull-like face and black robes that flowed around him. 

“Who are you?”  You asked.

“I am the keeper of the Soul stone, leading people to a treasure that I can never possess,” he responded.

You and Natasha glanced at one another before she looked back at the wraith and said, “Lead the way then.”

He led you through a small cave to another open area with a drop-off.  You glanced over the edge and felt your heart drop at the sight, that was a long way down.  You looked back at the wraith and said, “Where is it?”

“To acquire the Soul Stone, there must be a sacrifice.  You must give up the thing you love the most in order to obtain it,” he said.

Your breath hitched and Natasha paled.  You walked closer to her, “What do we do?  This could be a trap, it has to be a trap.”

She chewed on her nail, “No, I don’t think it is.  He’s telling the truth.”

You narrowed your eyes, “How do you know?  How can you possibly trust a thing he’s saying?”

She met your gaze, tears already swimming in her eyes, “I didn’t know my father’s name.”  That hit you like a ton of bricks.  

The area around you grew quiet as you both thought over your options together.  Finally, you said, “I think we know what has to be done.” 

She stood and pulled you into her arms, resting her forehead on yours.  “If we don’t get that stone billions will stay dead and this whole mission will be for nothing.  We have to get the stone back.”

You pulled away, “Nat…”

“It has to be me,” tears rolled down her face.  “I have to be the one that does this.”

You shook your head, “No it doesn’t.  Nat, you’ve done so much, helped so many people.  You deserve a life, you deserve to be happy.”

“And you don’t?!”  She cried out.  “You don’t deserve to have a happy life?  No, if anyone deserves a life it’s you.”

You could taste your salty tears, “Don’t make this harder than it has to be Nat.  Let me go.”

She shook her head vehemently, her own tears rolling down her cheeks, “I love you too much to do this.  I have to do this, the team needs you.”

“They need you too!”  You gripped her tighter.  “The world needs Natasha Romanoff.”

She bit her lip and shook her head, “No, the world needs you.”  She kicked your legs out from under you and held out her arm, her widow bites charging.  “I’m sorry, Y/N.”  She shot you sending the stinging pain crawling across your body.

You forced it off and went running after her.  You jumped just as she did and secured the rope around her, attaching her to the side of the cliff.  She held onto your arm, the only thing keeping you from plummeting to your death.  You could see the fear in her eyes.  “It’s okay,” the tears trailed down your cheeks and you smiled at her.  “It’s okay, Nat.  I’m okay with this.”

“I’m not!”  She yelled.  “I’m not letting you go!”

“I love you so much,” you told her, your heart breaking at the look on her face, but you couldn’t let her be the one that sacrificed herself for you.  “I love you.”  You forced yourself back and she had no choice but to let you go.

You closed your eyes and knew that your sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain.

Natasha had never felt so helpless in all her life.  It felt as if the breath had been knocked from her lungs and all she wanted to do was cut herself free and join you.  She wasn’t worth this sacrifice that you had made.  Your life was worth more than hers, but it was too late, you were gone and the thought of returning home without you made it that much harder. 

The world went black for a moment and when Natasha woke the Soul Stone was in her hand.  She wanted to throw it as far as she could and tell whoever watched over it that it wasn’t worth the price, that she didn’t want it, but she knew that that wouldn’t work.

Natasha made her way back through time to the others, landing on the quantum tunnel, everyone around her happy, but she felt… broken inside.

“Nat, where’s Y/N?”  She barely registered Steve’s voice.  She looked up to see the smiles of the team fading as they realized what had happened as they took in her tears.  “No.”

She handed Steve the Soul Stone and walked out of the room, her entire body numb.  You were gone and you weren’t coming back.

 

Thanos had somehow managed to travel through the quantum realm and end up in your time.  The fight had caused many casualties, one of which had been Tony.  Natasha was standing at his funeral, everyone he had touched in some way standing around her.  It felt wrong not having you there.

After the funeral, Natasha and Clint stood by the edge of the lake, his hand in hers.  He knew how much his friend was suffering, he knew how much she had loved you.  “Do you think she knows?”  She asked, finally looking at Clint.  “Do you think she knows we won?”

He squeezed her hand, hating that there wasn’t much else he could do to give her comfort, “I think she does.  I think she knew all along that we would win.”

“I do too,” she whispered, subtly wiping at a tear.

“What are you going to do now?”  He wondered if she would still be apart of the team or if this had been a final straw for her.

“I’m going to take some time off, travel a bit, see the world.  Y/N talked about all the places she wanted to see if she ever got the chance.  I want to go there maybe write her letters about all the things I saw and how beautiful they were.”

“You can always come to stay with Laura and I if you need to.  There will always be a place for you,” he offered.

“Thanks Clint,” Natasha knew that Clint’s door would always be open to her and she was grateful to him for that.  He had been there for her through her toughest times and she had no doubt that he would still be there for her when all was said and done.

“Clint!”  She turned to see Laura standing there.  “We should go.”

He looked back at Natasha and she gave him a smile, “Go, I’ll be fine here.”  She faced the lake as Clint headed home with his family.

In the end, she did travel the world and see all the places you and her had talked about once upon a time.  It took a few years but she rejoined the Avengers again, the world needed her and she knew you would yell at her if she didn’t.

Natasha became even closer friends with Bucky and Sam, the three of them forming their own little ragtag group together.  The pain of losing you never really went away, but it became easier over time.  Bucky would go with her on the days she visited your grave, and Sam would try to make those days a little less grey with his jokes.

She healed and moved on with life, and one day she hoped she would see you again and get to tell you in person about all the things she had experienced when you weren’t there by her side.

That day would come, and one day she would get to hear you say her name like you used to at night when it was just the two of you and you would whisper of your life together and all the things the two of you would do together.  It was hard to believe that you wouldn’t get to do them anymore, but she did them, vowing she would share those experiences with you in the afterlife someday. 

But until that day came she kept fighting to protect the sacrifice you had made to bring everyone back and keep the world safe from threats like Thanatos.

## FIN.


End file.
